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Villanova opened up its two-day conference on “Catholic and Social Teaching on War and Peace: Pacem in Terris 40 Years Later” with the Rev. Charles E. Curran, Elizabeth Scurlock Professor of Human Values at Southern Methodist University. The topic of his lecture was “The Teaching and Methodology of Pacem in Terris.”

Dr. Barbara Wall, O.P., special assistant to the president for mission, introduced The Rev. Edmund J. Dobbin, O.S.A., University president, who spoke about the author of the encyclical. “Pope John XXIII was a person who was open, a person who was warm, a person who was loving, whose spirit was permeated in that document…It is my hope that the spirit, that openness, that warmth, that love, will permeate the conversations here at Villanova today and also the world, which certainly needs it.”

The Rev. Arthur Chappell, O.S.A., chair of the department of theology and religious Studies, introduced Father Curran, who began by explaining the methodology of the encyclical. “Pacem in Terris emphasizes a natural law methodology appealing not primarily to the theological categories of redemption, Jesus Christ, and grace but to the ordering of natural law found in human nature that our conscience reveals to us.”

The second aspect of Pacem in Terris was its social teaching. “As one would expect, Pacem in Terris, as a part of the broad Catholic tradition in social ethics and the narrower tradition of Catholic social teaching, shows significant continuity with tradition. Recall the continuity with the natural law methodology of the tradition. Pacem in Terris accepts the anthropological basis of Catholic tradition—the dignity of the human person and the fact that the human person is social by nature,” added Father Curran.

The third aspect was the encyclical’s optimistic tone. “Pacem in Terris suffers from a natural law optimism. Natural law bases its approach on human reason and human nature and neglects both grace and human sinfulness,” Curran stated. “Pacem in Terris never mentions sin or its effects. There is no recognition of the tragic or the conflictual nature of human existence. In addition to neglecting the role of sin, the natural law approach neglects eschatology—the relationship between the fullness of the reign of God at the end of time and the present. The fullness of eschatology reminds us of imperfections, limitations and sinfulness of the present. The fullness of justice and peace will never exist in this world.”

Curran concluded his lecture by saying: “The natural law methodology of Pacem in Terris fails to recognize the dark, fragile, sinful, imperfect and conflictual side of human existence in this world. Likewise this more optimistic methodology comes through in some of the content of the encyclical. But there is also a realism in John XXIII that tempers to some degree that optimism. At the very minimum, all of us can agree that we need a vision or a utopia of justice and peace to enable us to continue striving and working for a greater justice and peace in our imperfect and sinful world.”

The event continued into the evening as the Most Reverend Thomas Gumbleton, auxiliary bishop of Detroit, founder of Pax Christi, USA and president of Bread for the World spoke of “Spirituality for Peacemaking in Our Time.” In his introduction, Dr. Barbara Wall, O.P., described Bishop Gumbleton as a “consistent voice for peace around the world.”

Noting that the world is coming out of the most violent century in human history where over 127 million people were killed in war, Bishop Gumbleton pointed out that in this time warfare underwent a change where innocent civilians emerged as the highest number of casualties. In World War I, 5 percent of those killed were non-combatants, in World War II 50 percent, while in the Vietnam War the count was still higher at 95 percent.

Following such astounding numbers, Bishop Gumbleton turned to Pope John XXIII’s Pacem in Terris as “a legacy of love to the world and a plea to end war.” Choosing to focus on John XXIII’s words about war for the dramatic change they brought about, he referenced paragraph 127 of his version as words that must be heard full and whose full implications must be understood. “And for this reason, in our atomic period, it is irrational any longer to think of war as an apt means to vindicate violated rights.”

Bishop Gumbleton claimed these words dramatically reversed what had been a tradition of justified violence or just war of the Church for nearly 1600 years. Adding there effect has continued to develop since then. He reminded the audience of Paul VI’s plea to the United Nations in October 1965, “Never again war, no never again war.” Also of how after describing the use of atomic bombs as resulting in “a butchery of untold magnitude,” Paul VI named Ghandi as the model prophet of the time for his rejection of violence and war.

He furthered his plea for peace with the words of current pope, John Paul II. “Violence is a lie. It goes against the truth of our faith, the truth of our humanity. Do not believe in violence, do not support violence. It is not the Christian way, it is not the way of the Catholic Church.”

Urging the audience to “remember we are made in the image of God, God is love,” Bishop Gumbleton continued, “When you learn to hate you are destroying yourself, you are destroying the image of God within you … when you learn to hate, when you learn to kill, you’re destroying your own soul.”

The Bishop called for the development of a spirituality that will offer the strength to face the sinfulness of war, adding that a sense of reverence for the individual needs to be established. Also, he named a developed passion for justice as the key to offering all a chance for full human life.

Insisting that “The message of Jesus is the only message that can bring genuine peace to our world,” he implored the audience to open themselves to conversion; a conversion to respect every person, to promote justice, to transform the world, to follow the profound message of Jesus and to develop spiritually.

Firm in his resolutions of conversion and peace, Bishop Gumbleton concluded asserting that: “We will be God’s instruments to bring our world to peace."